Home solar can charge electric vehicles

Fully Charged host Robert Llewellyn said the survey results were not surprising. He says Fully Charged always believed that renewable energy and electric vehicles would “become mainstream” because they are better technologies.

Llewellyn also favours powering electric vehicles with clean energy. This could include home solar installations and solar batteries as these can be used to charge electric cars.

Electric vehicles competitive on cost and driving range

While some people surveyed indicated they had held back from buying an electric vehicle due to the purchase cost, electric vehicles have much lower running costs than their combustion-engine counterparts.

This means they are becoming increasingly cost-competitive in terms of the total cost of ownership.

Studies also show electric vehicles are improving in terms of their driving range. Several factors determine driving range, including battery size and capacity and the vehicle’s weight. In a recent study the Tesla Model S100D was the stand-out winner, delivering 537 km on a 100 kWh battery before recharge.

However, cheaper models also fared well, such as the Hyundai Kona Electric, which managed nearly 450 km on a 64 kWh battery. This demonstrates that it’s the technology, not the buying price, that determines the driving range of an electric vehicle.